communications lines to the white house situation room, the national military command center at the pentagon and the cia's op center. having worked as an officer, i know that any information that indicates a threat overseas is mentioned above. if the message is received, it is the officer's job to make sure that other agencies are informed. i would like to present these questions on his behalf. first and foremost, what was going on at the ops center in the state department while the consulate was under attack for seven hours? >> we can give you greater detail but it is as you described, the place for communications to go in and out. they were placing calls, receiving calls, deeply engaged in trying to help us. they help us require information so we can respond in real time. >> 7 hours, there should have been a response. white the delay when it was immediately known that it was? >> i would say that we described the attack, i described the attack the next morning, the president called it an act of terror. as you read in the classified and unclassified version, there were a lot of questions abo